Ryu Hayabusa

Ever since Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune left Capcom, everyone has been wondering what his next project will be. Hints came earlier this year, saying the project would be codenamed Yaiba. A trailer was even released Sept. 13. But today, he cleared the air and announced that he is teaming up with Team Ninja and Spark Unlimited, developer of Lost Planet 3, to create Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z.

It probably also makes longtime fans giddy with excitement. After the disappointing Ninja Gaiden 3, this could be the shot in the arm for the venerable franchise. My gut reaction at the news is that it seems to be a right fit. Inafune’s style meshes well with Team Ninja’s series. Both do action games. Both are known for making difficult but rewarding titles. From the initial screenshots, the game has a striking cel-shaded style. I wish there was more detail though. The blood splatters are especially interesting because sometimes they look like kanji from a certain angle.

As for the gameplay and character design, the game seems to have gone through an overhaul. It looks like whomever the ninja is, he’s part robot. It’s hard to tell anything else from the images other than 1) Yes, it’s going to be bloody 2) There are robots and ninjas 3) It looks unique. No console or release date for the game have been announced yet. Side note: What if Tomonobu Itagaki’s game the Devil’s Third and Keiji Inafune’s game come out at the same time? Who would make a better game in that head-to-head matchup?

Here’s a shocking fact: Ninjas do not automatically bestow awesomeness.

Even the Ninja Gaiden series, the pinnacle of ninja-based gaming, proves that a game about the silent assassins flipping and killing stuff can be a terrible, joyless experience.Ninja Gaiden 3 is the first in the series developed without designer Tomonobu Itagaki at Team Ninja’s helm. It doesn’t take more than 10 minutes into the game to realize that Itagaki’s flair is sorely missing and the game is worse because of it.

In the push to make the game more accessible, Team Ninja has stripped away what makes the Ninja Gaiden games so much fun. Gone are the diabolical, but fair, difficulty and the deep and polished combat. While there are still plenty of awesome ninja things to do like jump out of planes without a parachute or fight a dinosaur, it’s all window dressing, a futile attempt to capture the essence of the series that Itagaki has carefully crafted.

I didn’t exactly get a hands-on time with this game, but I did get to see it in action for a while. I agree with the Press Democrat’s Eric Wittermerhaus that there are a few two many quicktime events in it. Watch the video and you’ll know what I mean. And yes, it still looks difficult.